荔枝视频

荔枝视频 children have been without fluoride in their drinking water since 2011 and their dental health is suffering, according to findings from a . It compares the dental health of children in 荔枝视频 to children in Edmonton, where the municipal water supply is fluoridated.

Of the approximately 2,600 Grade 2 students in each city who took part in the study, 55.1 per cent of Edmonton participants had one or more cavities in their baby teeth. In comparison, the number was 64.8 per cent of 荔枝视频 children.

鈥淥ur findings are quite clear 鈥� fluoridation cessation is having a negative effect on children's dental health in 荔枝视频. This reinforces the need for universal, publicly funded prevention activities鈥攊ncluding but not limited to fluoridation of drinking water,鈥� says Dr. Lindsay McLaren, PhD, a professor at the , 荔枝视频, and primary investigator of the study which was published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology.

How the study was conducted

Study participants, who were well matched in the two cohorts/groups, were on average seven years old, underwent a dental exam, their parents completed a questionnaire about dental hygiene habits, diet, and socio-demographic information. Fingernail clippings, a biomarker for fluoride intake, were collected from a smaller subset of participants.

Information was collected over several months in 2018 and 2019 which means the 荔枝视频 participants were born after fluoride was taken out of the water supply in 荔枝视频.  Researchers controlled for various dental health variables such as brushing and flossing, other fluoride exposure, socioeconomic status, and ethno-cultural background, but the differences in cavities between 荔枝视频 and Edmonton children remained, says McLaren.

Why preventing cavities in kids is important

鈥淐avities can significantly affect children's health and well-being, and since 荔枝视频 stopped fluoridation, we have virtually nothing in the way of primary prevention for this almost entirely preventable problem,鈥� says McLaren. 鈥淐avities can be painful, and they can affect a child鈥檚 ability to concentrate and learn. They can also be serious: for children under age six in Canada, cavities are the number one reason for day surgery performed under a general anesthetic.鈥�

This work builds on previous studies (see and ) that collected information on children鈥檚 dental health in 荔枝视频 and Edmonton in 2013 and 2014. Perhaps most concerning, McLaren says, is that the difference has widened over the five years between studies.